GET STARTED
The best way to learn to knit is to be prepared to spend the first few hours knitting, arrow up, knitting, start over, knitting, arrow up, pause. Knit these three samples and you'll be well on your way:
1) Make a sample with garter stitch (also called garter stitch):
Start by casting on 25 stitches. Then knit on both the wrong and right sides - the two sides will be the same so there is actually no real right and wrong side. Normally it is said that the first row you knit after casting on is on the wrong side, as the cast-on edge is then nicer from the right side. Knit approx. 5 cm back and forth and bind off.
2) Make a sample with stockinette stitch:
Cast on 25 stitches again. Now knit on one side (this will be the right side) and purl on the other (this will be the wrong side). Knit approx. 5 cm back and forth and cast off. Study the 2 sides and see the difference between a right and a wrong side. As you can see, the knitting rolls up a little, it does when you knit stockinette stitch. For example, if you are knitting a long scarf and don't want it to roll, you should start with garter stitch (or rib) as we tested before, knit approx. 2-3 cm. You can also knit a rib, you do it like this:
3) Make a sample with rib knit:
When knitting rib, you alternately knit and purl stitches across the needle. Cast on 25 stitches again and knit 1, purl 1, knit 1, purl 1, etc. across the needle. You want to end with a knit stitch. On the next row, it's the other way around, so when you ended with a knit stitch, you now start with a purl stitch. Knit, purl, knit, purl ... across the needle. This is called knitting over knit and purl over purl. Try it out and it will quickly make sense. If you do it wrong and end up knitting over purl and purl and knit, you're knitting what's called moss stitch instead.
The white knitting sample shows the right side with knit stitches in the first picture. The next picture shows the back/wrong side with purl stitches. This sample corresponds to knitting sample no. 2 with stockinette stitch. The pink knitting sample shows garter stitch where knit stitches are knitted on both sides (it corresponds to the first knitting sample).
YARN KEYS OR FAT?
When you buy yarn, it can either be a finished skein or a skein that you have to wind into a skein yourself. This requires a yarn winder and a cross-skein device (or a pair of willing hands or a chair). There are lots of good videos that can help you wind your yarn if it was bought as a skein. If you are a completely new knitter, it would be a good idea to start with a finished skein. In the pictures below, the first pink yarn is a skein that is twisted around itself. The second picture shows a lot of different types of skeins. They don't look exactly like each other, but they are all ready to be knitted off.
OH OH THE NUMBER OF STITCHES IS NOT CORRECT?
We all know it, we sit and knit outside while we talk, drink coffee, watch a movie, etc. - and suddenly the number of stitches doesn't match.
If there is one stitch too many (the first picture below): In some patterns it doesn't matter that much. For example, if you are knitting a ribbed scarf without a pattern, you probably won't notice that there is an extra one. But if you are knitting a pattern, you will either have to knit backwards or find out where the mistake is. Sometimes you can be lucky and it can be solved by simply knitting 2 stitches together where the mistake occurred. But be very careful that the pattern fits.
If there is one stitch too few (picture no. 2 below) : Dropping a stitch is not so good, it can fray all the way down through the knitwear and leave a hole. Try to see if you can find where it is dropped and pick it up all the way up through the knitwear with a crochet hook.
BUTTONHOLES
There are a lot of great buttonholes, and I won't guide you through them all, find a lot of nice variations on YouTube for example. A good buttonhole that is suitable for small buttons (therefore good for children's knitting) is simply that when you get to making the buttonhole, you make a yarn over and then knit 2 together. Then you have a hole but the same number of stitches. On the next row, you just knit as indicated over the stitches. If you need a larger hole, you can, for example, cast off 2-3 stitches and continue knitting, when you come around again on the next row/round, cast on the specified number of stitches (i.e. 2-3) over where you cast off, and continue knitting. Then you have a larger hole for a larger button. Test if necessary right after you have knitted a few rows after the holes, that your desired buttons can come through.
END STITCHING
How you fasten off ends depends a bit on what yarn you are knitting. With regular wool yarn you just leave an end of about 10 cm which you fasten off and weave into the stitches on the back, again there are lots of good videos if you search for end fastening. If you are not a fan of fastening off ends, you can also knit the end to the back of the knitwear while you are knitting.
ASSEMBLY
Some patterns require assembly, i.e. that for example the sleeves or button plackets are sewn on at the end. Many knitters are not happy with assembly and I therefore try to avoid assembly in my patterns. That is why the vast majority of cardigans and blouses are knitted from the top down in one piece, so there is a minimum of assembly afterwards. However, some designs will require assembly, and this will therefore not always be avoidable.
YOKE & RAGLAN
The top of a blouse/cardigan is called a yoke. It can be made in a multitude of ways. Here I show the difference between raglan and round yoke, which are two commonly used methods. A round yoke is knitted in the round on circular needles with increases either evenly spaced or divided according to the pattern. Raglan, on the other hand, is divided into 4 seams (lines from the shoulder to under the arm) where one is made along a line down (or decreases along a line up if you knit from the bottom up).
